2009.07.31 09:35:58

jayblake

Every so often I do another search around the web to find a reading I have not heard to share with you.  It's important to remember that the last frame of your wedding DVD is not the end but the beginning, of your married lives together.

I came across this one - what powerful words!

Why Marriage? by Mari Nichols

Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person, With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body... Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me, Who won't hold them against me, Who loves me when I'm unlikable, Who sees the small child in me, and Who looks for the divine potential of me... Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night With someone who thanks God for me, With someone I feel blessed to hold... Because marriage means opportunity To grow in love in friendship... Because marriage is a discipline To be added to a list of achievements... Because marriages do not fail, people fail When they enter into marriage Expecting another to make them whole... Because, knowing this, I promise myself to take full responsibility For my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness I create me, I take half of the responsibility for my marriage Together we create our marriage... Because with this understanding The possibilities are limitless. Have a great weekend and to those of you getting married - all the best for the day - but more importantly for your married lives thereafter.

Wedding DVD | The Beginning | readings

2009.07.29 11:51:17

jayblake

The Phone rang one Monday afternoon a year or two back.  "is that special memories?"  how often that question is the first I am faced with when I answer my phone.  I discovered that the groom I was on the phone to was getting married on friday.

Not A friday - but THIS friday - 4 days away.  So yes that was cutting it fine but it did make me think this morning.  There must be people out there getting married this weekend who will in years to come join the throng of people saying "if only we had someone film our wedding for us" ...

So if that's you - or you are getting married next week or next weekend....  Whenever, do give us a call - we will do all we can to have your wedding covered.  I have a number of camera people I use and trust to ensure you have a wonderful memory of your day!

Enjoy the process...  We look forward to sharing your special day with you

Till next time

Jay

Wedding DVD | late booking

2009.07.19 14:49:05

jayblake

I know that we offer an excellent service for a very good price.  However a number of clients have been asking this year whether we are able to offer discounts on our prices.

I have finally come to the decision that offering more options to our clients and the ability to have differing prices dependent on the needs of the bride and groom may well be beneficial to all.

There are certainly some things I don't want to change...  Offering less than from before the ceremony to the speeches I don't think is worth doing.  We tried this when we started out some 5 years ago and it really did not work.  It may however be that people want to reduce their costs by us not staying after the speeches until the first dance.

We will therefore have a price review very soon combined with announcements about offers.  If you are getting married soon don't hesitate to get in touch and we will ensure you get a very special offer for a very special memory.

If you have any suggestions about criteria which you feel might warrent a discount or any view on the subject please do get in touch, by email might be easiest to :  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Thanks in advance

 

Special Offer | Discount | Wedding DVD

2009.05.16 10:49:11

jayblake

Little Nutbrown Hare, who was going to bed, held on tight to Big Nutbrown Hare's very long ears. He wanted to be sure that Big Nutbrown Hare was listening."Guess how much I love you," he said.

And so started the reading which was so beautifully read.  There is always something special about each and every wedding and each and every wedding video.  This one was the deep and obvious love between a father and his children.  Matched in no small part by their love for him. This along with the love between the bride and groom it was just such a lovely wedding a real privilage to be a part of it!

We film many different weddings with different family situations, first weddings for one or both involved.  Second, Third marriages.  Sometimes these can be more poinient and I am still not sure why that might be.  Is it because they have both been through it before and come at it in a different way?  If you need any suggestions for any aspect of your wedding please do let us know

Ahh - so you want to know how the story ends??  Here you go!

Big Nutbrown Hare settled Little Nutbrown Hare into his bed of leaves. He leaned over and kissed him good night.

Then he lay down close by and whispered with a smile, "I love you right up to the moon - AND BACK."

Till next time

Wedding DVD | readings | how much do I love you

2009.05.14 13:43:47

jayblake

Afternoon all

I had a phonecall from a friend of ours yesterday asking if I was available to film a wedding next saturday.  I happened to be free so gave her client a call.  How exciting.  Not only is the church about my favorite church in England, but the reception is being held at the Landmark Hotel in London which is where my wife and I spent the first night of our honeymoon before heading off for Heathrow.

The amazing thing for me is that is 9 years ago now and feels like 9 weeks ago and 19 years ago all at the same time.  I guess its just worth saying that if you have a wedding coming up don't think it's too late to call.  We are able to look after more than one wedding on a day and so may still be able to accomodate you.

Speak soon

Jay

Wedding DVD | Landmark | late bookings

2009.04.28 11:00:45

jayblake

What a glorious day!  If only we were out filming a wedding today...

Just as I start to think that an e-mail pops into my e-mail box from a client I filmed last year...

Hi Jay,

Just a quick note to say we cant stop watching our wedding video!
You captured us at our best - and it is a great watch!

Can't thank you enough!

All the best xx

KATE DAY
Senior Trade Co-Ordinator
Bartercard Bucks, Beds, Herts

 

It's always nice to get positive feedback but especially when it's totally unexpected.  Its now been over 6 months since their wedding and on discussion (yes I did call her back before writing this) everyone who has not seen it who pops in for coffee is given the opportunity...

So if you want to be enjoying your wedding day 6 months, 6 years or 60 after your wonderful day - do get in touch

Till next time

Wedding DVD | thank you

2009.04.20 06:31:56

jayblake

Good Morning all

It's my first full week back after the easter holiday and I am extra excited this morning.

We have recieved our voucher books this weekend.   As those of you have been following my blogs will have seen we have been chosen to be the videographer of choice for the tickled pink wedding ring.  The Ring  certainly seam to have all the main suppliers and some I had not expected to see in there!  I will be asking other members of the Wedding Ring to guest blog so you should be hearing from them in due cours - watch this space!

If you are planning a wedding and feel that this might be of use please do drop me a line at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .u'; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text20323 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it k

I hope you all have a great week

Jay

 

Wedding DVD | Tickled Pink | Wedding Ring.

2009.04.17 14:31:05

jayblake

Greetings friends and regular readers of my blog

It did occur to me that I might let you all know that I was going on holiday, or get someone else to update my blog for me while away but alas there was lots going on before we went not least of which the move into the new studio.

It was a very special time away over easter and was especially nice to come back and be at home without being at work.  Having a studio which is at the top of the garden means that the house is just a home rather than a home and an office now which is a great thing.

So did you all have a good Easter?  Too much chocolate?  I hope it was a very special time for you as it really was for us as a family.

Well the wedding season really is upon us now and we very much look forward to being a part of so many people's special days.  If you are still thinking about whether to have your day filmed then do get in touch.  It would be a pleasure to invite you to our new studio to have a look at some examples of our work and see what we can do to help.

I am still amazed when at wedding fairs how many people I speak to who say that they would watch a DVD so much more than they would look at photo's from their wedding, and yet it is still often thought of as an extra rather than a mandatory part of the wedding package.

Until next time

Wedding DVD | Holiday | photography | New Studio

2009.04.05 09:29:54

jayblake

Good morning all

Sitting here this morning after a busy week and have realised how much has happened in the last 7 days.  This time last week I was on the south coast filming the preparations at a brides home.  It was one of my more unusual weddings as we had been booked without having the opportunity to meet with the bride.  The joys of being a member of Bartercard does mean that at times we do have weddings like that.

As many of you will know we also have been getting our new studio space ready and this week we managed to move in.  Having been very uncertain about the ability to get some of the bigger pieces of furniture in there.  It was great when we managed to get it all in there.

Having dedicated space to be able to meet with prospective clients before their special day as well as having space to review wedding dvd’s not to mention all of the editing and production which we have to do

Saturday was a lovely wedding in High Wycombe.  Being in a church full of people all very much enjoying being a part of the service, both invited guests and the church family.  They then had nibbles and cake at the church before going onto the reception at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Marlow.  I will blog on it in more detail later but it still is amazing to me that drinking a pint of beer would be cheaper than drinking orange and lemonade...

So here I am - it’s Sunday and my 2nd last wedding fair of the season.  I hope you all have a lovely day and as always would love to hear from you if there are any subjects you would like covered on this blog.

Till next time

Wedding DVD | Bartercard | Wedding Fair | Warbrook House

2009.03.27 06:29:41

jayblake

Recently I’ve become fascinated by wedding favours. Originally pastries or sweets, then five sugared almonds to represent Health, Wealth, Happiness, Fertility and Long Life, favours are beginning to take an increasing portion of a lot of wedding budgets and are become incredibly diverse.

Well, I would like to set a challenge – who is having the most inventive wedding favours?

I am overwhelmed by the diversity available but still my favourite has to be the giving of seeds or plants such as Wild Flower Favours. The concept of each guest taking away a little element of the wedding, planting it and watching it grow into something beautify truly reflects what I feel a wedding is all about, the start of a beautiful marriage.

So what are you planning? Are you even having favours at all?

I’d love to hear your thoughts

Wedding Favors | Wedding DVD

2009.03.20 08:45:24

jayblake

It’s great to receive feedback on our blogs, especially from people who are planning their wedding or who work within the industry, and this week we have been paid a great compliment - our blog has been blogged!

Andrew Sansom, of Andrew Sansom Wedding Photography has paid us the compliment of using one of our blogs on his site and you can see it at http://weddingphotos.andrewsansom.com/default.asp?id=374&ver=1 .

It’s great when you are recognised for something you’ve put together and so I thought I would open this up to you on our site. We love hearing your feedback and would love to know what you want to see on this site.

So please send in your own blogs to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and the top five that are chosen will appear on this site as guest blogs and the winners will be a sent a prize of a Tickled Pink Wedding Ring Voucher Book, which offers discounts and special offers across a whole spectrum of wedding elements, including our own.

So get blogging and we look forward to seeing you on our site soon.

Andrew Sansom | Guest Blogs | wedding video | Wedding DVD

2009.03.18 12:09:42

jayblake

I was reading a really disturbing article this week that said the number of weddings had declined by a quarter since the 1990’s and that the average age of bride and groom has gone up as more people postpone getting married until later life.

The article in the Guardian stated that the reason for this trend is largely due to tax breaks for married couples being abolished, increasingly large divorce settlements being awarded and the costs of a wedding increasing.

But I ask you, do you really think about these things when you are deciding to get married?

Certainly the type of wedding you will have will be influenced by the budget, especially in today’s economic climate, but when your potential fiancée is down on one knee and asking for your hand in marriage, do you really think ‘well I want to share the rest of my life with this man, but there aren’t really any tax breaks anymore, so there’s no real incentive to get married. Besides, if we split up, the divorce settlement might not work in my favour’

Marriage is still the one genuine way of truly committing your life and your love to another person and I applaud those of you that are taking the time and the effort to create this special day, to share your love and commitment with each other and those closest to you. I did, and it was the best day of my life. It is a unity of two souls and should never be evaluated to financial cost or a risk to be avoided in the divorce courts.

Revel in the planning of your marriage. Not just because it creates a spectacular day that will always be with you, but that you are also planning to start your union with another sole, a blessing that far outweighs financial cost or risk.

Wedding DVD | Stats

2009.03.08 15:28:20

jayblake

My wife and I have been looking at the age old question, why have a videographer at your wedding.

Without a doubt, this question is the most frustrating part of being in this industry – as soon as you are back from the honeymoon, you completely understand the benefit of the video and the continuing pleasure it can bring you; but how to communicate that to young couples who feel that they will remember every detail of their day, especially how much it is costing, without further expenditure!

I understand the video is yet another cost to the ever increasing wedding budget but I do also feel it is an investment in the future. It acts as a complete and life long record of the wedding day, and there is no other medium at present which can do this to the extent that video can - The joy that the wedding video brings to the couple and their families is one of the key elements that drew me into this business in the first place.

I am never going to say that a video can take the place of the wedding photographs; personally I believe that the two work hand in hand. We work with some of the best photographers in the business who produce an amazing product that really captures the moment, a snapshot of a beautiful day.

However, with videography, I feel the memory you receive is much more rounded. As my wife says, a video is an emotional experience. A photograph provides the view; the video is the eyes and ears of the wedding day. It enables you to relieve the experience and the emotions over and over again. It reminds you of the day you had but also shows you the day you didn’t see, your guests and the activities surrounding them, when you were elsewhere.

With video you really get the opportunity to see the bigger picture and this does come at a price, but not one I have ever experienced someone regretting.

So what are your thoughts? How do you feel we should show our potential clients the view that we have in hindsight? It is something I continue to ponder over and would love to hear your thoughts.

Wedding DVD | Can you afford not to have a video | Credit crunch | photography

2009.03.06 11:51:42

jayblake

This has turned out to be a very exciting week here at Special Memories. We’ve finalised the plans for the new studio and hope to see work starting over the weekend. I can’t wait to carry out our first viewing in our new environment.

In addition, we have also been invited to be the Wedding Videographer of choice in the new Tickled Pink Wedding Ring, which is ‘an exclusive collection of specially selected wedding professionals who will weave their magic to make your Wedding Day a truly memorable experience’.

It’s great to be recognised within the industry for the work we do and, as part of this, we will receive voucher books to send on to our potential customers that offer discounts in all the key areas of wedding planning.

So if you would like to receive a copy of the wedding ring voucher book, please ensure that you have registered for our regular newsletter on our home page and we will contact you when we have received them to make sure we can get them to you.

I wish you well with all your wedding planning and hope that each day can be as beautiful as today

Wedding DVD | Videographer of choice | Tickled Pink

2009.03.01 12:56:24

jayblake

During my initial conversation with every couple that I meet, we always discuss what the bride and groom see as the key elements to the wedding day and what they feel is most important to be included in the final film. This ensures that I am aware of their priorities and can make sure that the final film includes every element that they see as vital.

The answers I receive to this question vary considerably; most couples include the wedding ceremony itself, the speeches and the first dance. A lot say the guests, especially children or specific guests that are elderly or have come a long distance, or the surrounding area, to ensure that we capture the locality of the event. Fewer have said it is imperative to get a lot of ‘back shots’ of the dress or have even insisted on focussing on their very highly priced shoes when walking down the aisle! As long as we know what the priorities are, we are always happy to include them – and having two cameras at most of our weddings means that we can adhere to these requests without missing out on some of the more fundamentals!

The difficulty comes when the priorities of the bride and groom become so wildly different, or it becomes apparent that the couple involved have been swept away with other people’s opinions and have not really had a chance to really discover what they, themselves want.

I have always found this quite a sad situation and have encouraged each individual to truly think about what it is they need to get from their day.

As one colleague suggested, a fantastic way of doing this, is to set aside an evening when you are on your own, open a bottle of wine and sit with a pad and paper and write down everything that you feel is important for your day. You may wish to share this with your partner, your family or you may wish to burn it, but what ever you decide to do, you will know in your heart of hearts what you want and that can make every difference to the outcome of such a special event

Happy planning

Wedding planning | What do you want | Wedding DVD | Brides | Grooms

2009.02.26 08:03:57

jayblake

As you probably know from our website or from previous blogs, Special Memories is a family business led by my wife, Kirsty, and myself. In fact, we not only do most of the filming ourselves, but also have the capability to edit and produce your film entirely in-house which not only enables us to maintain our exacting high levels of quality of production and final film, but also ensures that we can produce an end product that we are happy to provide as a lasting memory of your day.

As we are around weddings for a huge proportion of our working day, it was great to see that our daughters are now eagerly getting involved in the family business. My five year old daughter has now seen so many wedding videos that we are considering employing her as our Quality Control Director as she likes to ‘review’ the final copy of each and every film before it goes out.

My daughter has now seen such a number and variety of weddings that her own wedding has been arranged down to the smallest detail. She knows the type of wedding she wants, what she will wear, what she will eat, what car she will travel in, who will walk her up the aisle etc etc – the only thing missing is the person she is going to marry and, at five years old, it’s good that she’s keeping some of her options open!

However, her favourite wedding video is not one that we’ve actually filmed, but the one my wife and I played the starring role in. My daughter loves nothing more than watching her Mummy and Daddy on a grainy VHS video, having their very own wedding. She has become so addicted that the other day, my wife fulfilled my daughters’ dearest dreams and put on her wedding dress to show the girls. In full dress and ‘whale’ (it took some time, but we then realised she meant veil), my daughter remarked ‘Mummy, you look so beautiful’. My wife was beaming with pride, initially I thought this was at my daughter’s comments, but it turned out to be because, ten years later, she could still get her dress on and do it up.

I thought the girls were going to burst with pride as they immediately rushed off to put on their best outfits, so that they could pretend to be bridesmaids. You can only begin to imagine the scene of my wife and daughters trying to re-enact our wedding in the front room. Though not the original wedding video, it still makes a fantastic piece of home video to be treasured alongside it.

It was on the insistence of our daughters, that Kirsty and I sat down and watched our wedding video with them. It was amazing to see how beautiful my wife looked and to remind us of one of the most amazing days of our lives. But it was also wonderful to see those that shared our day with us that are either no longer with us, or we have simply lost touch with, and introduce those dear people to our own children though, with some, it will never be possible in real life.

The story goes, that you are not meant to cry at your own wedding. And even though my wife cried the whole way up the aisle the first time, Kirsty insists she did not shed one tear while watching the rerun with our daughters – but we’ve had dogs longer than we’ve been married, is it really possible to develop an allergy now, and experience a full recovery after just 30 minutes?

Until next time

Family Business | Wedding DVD | VHS to DVD | Children

2009.02.19 16:01:41

jayblake

Hi All

I was challenged this morning to put into a very short paragraph something which summed up what we do.  Well this is what I came up with

“Step back into your wedding day and bring your memories back to life whenever you want. Invite us to your wedding, you won’t even know we are there.”

Bearing in mind the amount of time we had to put this together I am pleased with it – and also greatful to the people who were at the meeting with me who helped me put it together.

There is lots of changes coming in the next few days so do keep a look out.

Hope you are all well and as always please do let us know any thoughts you have or things you feel we could do to help you.

Have a great day

Wedding DVD | Memories | Keynote

2009.02.11 08:31:31

jayblake

Greetings friends

Once more I found myself looking at readings which could be a part of your very special day.  I always enjoy coming across something I have not heard before, and believe me these are becoming fewer and further between.

Anyway here is one I found and thought I would share with you

When God Created Man


When God created man and placed him in the Garden of Eden he saw that it was not good for man to live alone. So God prepared a helper and a companion for man - woman. In this act of creation, God didn't take the woman from man's head, lest she should rule over him; nor from his feet, lest he should trample upon her- but from his side, that she should be equal with him, and from close to his heart, that he should love, cherish, and honour her. Then God presented woman to man that each might be the other's helper and companion. Marriage is God's gift to deliver us from our isolation and loneliness. It is our opportunity to give each other the gifts of God and to receive the gifts of God from each other.

As you prepare for your big day enjoy the process, I know it can be stressful and difficult at times.  Always remember your wedding day is the beginning, not the end of a process.

Have a great day

wedding | reading | helper companion | Wedding DVD

2009.02.07 22:09:39

jayblake

I spoke to a photographer friend of mine this evening and she said something very powerful, “Jay”, she said,
“You’re the only videographer I have not wanted to kill, so you’re the only videographer who’s details I ever give out!” - Thank you Maria!  (Maria Ashby Giles, Ashby Giles Photography)

It is always a privilege to be recommended by photographers, for a number of reasons, 1stly they are happy with the quality of our work and are willing to recommend us.  2ndly because it means we are recognised by them for our ability to enable us both to get our work done and also for recognising that we are carrying out different jobs.

It did also make me think about brides who are searching for their video supplier.  Yes there are videographers who will offer to create special effects, I have even seen a videographer who will get everyone to mime to tragedy, and I mean everyone vicar included.  If this is something you would like to have great, but please do think about how much of your day it will have taken up to do this and factor that time into the equation.

We won’t choreograph anything on your day.  Your day is too special for us to intrude into it and take up your time with your family and friends.

photographer | video services | Wedding DVD | Special Memories

2009.01.31 00:26:27

jayblake

For sometime now we have been thinking about and trying to work out when would be the best time and what would be the right equipment to get in order to transition to be able to offer our weddings in High Definition.

It’s ok, I will spare you the details about the cameras etc which we are purchasing, but I am pleased to advise that our 2009 weddings can be filmed in High Definition.  I expect to have them in the next couple of weeks and am very much looking forward to the new results that they will bring.

The major investment we are making to the business at this time will necessitate a review of our prices.  We will however be accepting deposits for our current prices certainly until the middle of the first week in Feb,  so if you are thinking of booking now really is the time to do it!

Hear from you soon

Jay

Wedding DVD | High Definition | price change